Is this enough power?

What are you going to be doing with your new pc? Gaming or Home Theater?

The general rule of thumb is a high quality 500 to 550 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can easily power a system with any single video card made. A high quality 700 to 750 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can power a system with two video cards operating in dual mode. There are a few exceptions like the new ATI Radeon HD 5XXX series cards which use less power due to their energy efficiency.

A high quality 500 to 550 watt psu will have a +12 volt rail rated at 40 amps. A high quality 700 to 750 watt psu will have a +12 volt rail rated at 60 amps.

Before purchasing a new psu you will need to decide whether you will eventually have a pc with one or two video cards.

Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, and Seasonic are some of the brands that have a reputation for high quality power supplies that consistently earn high marks in technical reviews. They are reliable, stable, and come with a 5 year warranty. Some of the newer models come with a 7 year warranty. Lately we've been seeing a few other brands offering some high quality units. An example would be the Antec Earthwatts series which is an improvement over Antec’s older series psu’s.


Here are the ATI recommended power supply requirements for the new ATI Radeon HD 5770 and 5750 video cards that just became available:


450 Watt or greater power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connector recommended

600 Watt and two 75 watt 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode

Those recommendations are for an entire system.

ATI Radeon HD 5770 Technical review:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3658

Power consumption, temperature, and noise levels are very encouraging.